__NOTOC__ The Mendocino Presbyterian Church is a historic

Carpenter Gothic Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massin ...

-style

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church building located at 44831 Main Street, in Mendocino,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Built of

coast redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coast ...

, it sits on the Mendocino headlands overlooking the Pacific Ocean; its

board and batten A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields. In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...

exterior walls, tall side-entrance bell tower, steep

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d roof and

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s are typical of many Carpenter Gothic churches. Its stained glass windows were made by local stained glass artist

Leone McNeil Zimmer Leone McNeil Zimmer (1916 - 2014) was a stained glass artist who lived in Mendocino, California... Biography Leone McNeil was born in National City, California, and grew up in Los Angeles. She earned a bachelor of education degree as an art major a ...

. The church is

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

No. 714 and is also a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

in the Mendocino and Headlands Historic District which was added on July 14, 1971, to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

History

The church was designed by architects S. C. Bugbee & Son of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and was built between 1867 and 1868 at a cost of $10,000 by contractor Albert Maxwell. On July 5, 1868, it was formally dedicated.Mendocino Presbyterian Church history
It served as the model for the smaller but more elaborate Church of the Good Shepherd, Berkeley that S. C. Bugbee's son Charles L. Bugbee designed in the late 1880s. In 1947 parts of the movie Johnny Belinda, which starred

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007). was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress, four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Pr ...

and

Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film ''All Quiet on the Western Fro ...

, were filmed on the premises and the church received enough money to buy a new roof.

Current status

Today the church is an active congregation in the

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its theological roots lie primarily in the Scottish Reformat ...

, and is one of the oldest continuously used Protestant churches in California. The Rev. Matthew E. Davis is the current pastor. Mendocino Presbyterian Church contact us

References

External links

Mendocino Presbyterian Church website

One of many photos on flickr: Mendocino Presbyterian Church (at sunrise)

Another flickr photo
{{Coord, 39.3049, N, 123.7967, W, type:landmark, display=title California Historical Landmarks Presbyterian churches in California Carpenter Gothic church buildings in California Churches in Mendocino County, California Churches completed in 1868 19th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States Historic district contributing properties in California National Register of Historic Places in Mendocino County, California Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in California